My name is Joel Goodson. I deal in human fulfillment. I grossed over eight thousand dollars in one night. Time of your life, huh kid?

Title: Risky Business (1984)

The movie that made Tom Cruise into a superstar is now 25 years old.

In Risky Business, Joel Goodson (Tom Cruise) is a suburban teenager who was left behind by his parents to watch the house while they went on vacation for a week. So what's a teenage boy gonna do while he's alone? Naturally, he'll indulge in anything teenage boys will do - girls, parties, cars.

In Joel's case, he called hookers to come over. After screening out a few candidates, the beautiful Lana (Rebecca De Mornay) showed up and Joel's world spun out of control. From then on, "Risky Business" craftily drew us into intricate events that began when Joel was short of the $300 that Lana charged him for the night.

With all the events that occurred, did any of you wonder how Joel kept a straight face at the end when his parents came back from vacation and asked him how things went?

The movie also established the relatively unknown casts into 80s and 90s mainstream. Curtis Armstrong (linking actor from Revenge of the Nerds) went on to become a popular character actor. Bronson Pinchot went on to star in his own TV sitcom, Perfect Strangers. Rebecca De Mornay became an A-list actress throughout the 80's. And Joe Pantoliano, already acting for close to a decade, continued his success in Hollywood.

Also, Bob Seger's Old Time Rock n Roll has been known as the Risky Business song ever since (see video).

And the Risky Business sunglasses became a fashion standard...even today.

Perhaps the reason why "Risky Business" stood out from other 80's teen romp movies is that it's a lot more than just teens romping around. Joel and his friends faced extra ordinary circumstances requiring extra ordinary patience and stroke of luck to survive. There was something poetic about how Joel presented his week-long plight. Maybe it's the narrations by Tom Cruise that were carefully placed.

Memorable Risky Business quotes

"Say 'what the fuck.'... If you can't say it, you can't do it."

"My name is Joel Goodson. I deal in human fulfillment. I grossed over eight thousand dollars in one night. Time of your life, huh kid? "

"Looks like University of Illinois!"

"I don't believe this! I've got a trig midterm tomorrow, and I'm being chased by Guido the killer pimp. " -- Miles while riding in the back seat of Joel's Porsche 928.

We've got bush!

Title: Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

The zanyness (or zanity) continues. In "Revenge of the Nerds" a group of college outcasts banded together to form their own fraternity as they were rejected from every other fraternities on campus.

So what do we get? As a new chapter of Lambda Lambda Lambda, the fraternal brotherhood became a "safe haven" for nerdy students consisting of Louis (Robert Carradine), Gilbert (Anthony Edwards), Harold (Andrew Cassese), Lamar (Larry B. Scott), Toshiro (Brian Tochi), and Booger (Curtis Armstrong). They still, however, had to contend with the bullying jocks of Alpha Beta, led by Stan Gable (Ted McGinley, also the linking actor from "Young Doctors in Love") quarterback for the football team. It all had to happen in the annual Greek games.

If there's an underdog in you, you'll appreciate this movie.

Best Scene

There are quite a few worth the mention:
- belching contest between Ogre (Donald Gibb) and Booger
- the nerds infiltrating the sorority house on a panty raid
- the nerds spying on the sorority girls after the panty raid
- Booger meeting his master (see video)

Best Revenge of the Nerds quotes

"We've got bush!"

"I say we blow the fuckers up."

"You know, when you were a baby in your crib, your father looked down at you, he had but one hope - some day my son will grow to be a man. Well look at you now. You just got your asses whipped by a bunch of goddamn nerds."

One quick note. Those familiars with high school or college social dilemmas may have asked themselves one question: Why is Booger one of the nerds? He's not shown to be bookish. Kind of a slob. Drinks beer. And belches a lot.

Also, a little bit of a social commentary. Did Louis rape Betty Childs (Julia Montgomery)? You remember the scene. She fell for Louis after she found out who he was. But still, is it rape or simply a "Revenge of the Nerds"?

Attention: Starting Monday, all nurses must wear underwear.

Title: Young Doctors in Love (1982)

Some movies are so bad, they're forgettable. "Young Doctors in Love" is one of them. Once in awhile, you'll see it on late night cable. This movie is in here for one reason. For all the bad parts, I remember one scene that I would have easily dismissed had I not been a fan of the greatest comedy sitcom ever.

>It was a scene showing a silhouette of a man walking in one of the hospital room. Cannot see the face, but the man had a distinctive walk and a familiar hairdo. When the man eventually came into some lighting, we see Michael Richards in a minor role. But, the distinctive gawky walk and the hairdo eventually became the trademark of Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld.


I'm sure we all know what happened with Mr. Richards as of late. Here's a video as Michael Richards apologizes on Letterman.

Technorati Tags: 80's Films, Comedy, spoofs, Young Doctors in Love Michael Richards

Kickboxing. Sport of the future.

Title: Say Anything (1989)

Another seminal 80's teen film, "Say Anything" blended memorable sounds, dialogue and scenes that we wish were a part of our lives while we were going through our own pre-adult, pre-career, teen love angst. This gem of a movie was served up by Cameron Crowe in his directorial debut (writer of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and director of "Almost Famous"). "Say Anything" was another vehicle showcasing John Cusack as the quintessential sensitive male navigating through life. His movies were not about finding adventures or building cars, but they were about girls, more specifically, girls who drove his characters crazy.

Best Lines:

"If you guys know so much about women, how come you're here at like the Gas 'n' Sip on a Saturday night completely alone drinking beers with no women anywhere?"

"Kickboxing. Sport of the future."

"I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen."

The linking actor from "Sixteen Candles" is John Cusack. Although he's already a respectable name by the time "Say Anthing" was released, in "Sixteen Candles", he was just a bit above an extra.

Technorati Tags: 80's Films, Comedy, Say Anything, John Cusack

I can't believe this. They fucking forgot my birthday.

Title: Sixteen Candles (1984)

If it there's a pattern here favoring teen comedy classics, well it's because the 80's produced quite a few good ones. "Sixteen Candles" is among the best and is a timeless classic. Anthony Michael Hall was born to play Farmer Fred...errr...Farmer Ted. Molly Ringwald transformed from an innocuous actress from TV's "Facts of Life" to become the 80's teen princess. John Hughes (RIP) launched a successful franchise.

We also see John Cusack in a minor role as one of Farmer Ted's geek buddies. Of the actors in this movie, he is probably the biggest and remains relevant in today's film scene. Not to mention the blond hottie, Haviland Morris, who played Caroline Mulford who is seen here waking up with Farmer Ted in a very nice and very expensive 1974 Rolls Royce Corniche Convertible.

I recall at the time how this movie received criticism as being racist, specifically from how Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe), the Chinese exchange student was portrayed. I thought it was all in good fun (I'm Asian). And Long's scenes remain as one of my guilty pleasures in cinema.

Memorable Quotes from Sixteen Candles

Lumberjack: What's your last name?
Long Duk Dong: Dong.
Lumberjack: What's your first name?
Long Duk Dong: Long.
Lumberjack: What's your middle name?
Long Duk Dong: Duk.

"I've never bagged a babe. I'm not a stud."

"I can't believe I gave my panties to a geek."

John Kapelos is the linking actor from "The Breakfast Club". He was the janitor from that movie. He has two movies I consider an 80's classic to his credit - "Nothing in Common" and "Class". I hope to post on these movies down the line.